Of Mice and Conviction
by Reezi
Summary: alternate ending to of mice and men for school. are the problems lennie has lived with going to be too much for george to take anymore. starts after george sees his aunt and the rabbit


Karli Phillips

Language Arts 11/1

November 29, 2007

**Of Men and Conviction**

The brush behind Lennie moved with the quiet thrashing of feet.

"What the hell you yellin' about?"

Lennie whipped around to find his companion, George, standing, one hand on a large oak. Relief filled his flat features as the rabbit scurried away.

"George? I did what you said, didn't I? See! I came to the right place! I—"

George slowly walked forward, his boots racking a twig to pieces, expression stoic.

"Yeah, yah did," he agreed softly.

Lennie stopped in his steps toward George, eyes wide.

"Y-you ain't gonna give me hell?" he squeaked lip quivering.

Turning his head to the side, George avoided Lennie's eyes and, instead, watched his reflection wavering in the green pool beside them.

"You didn't mean no harm."

The large man furrowed his brow and nodded furiously. The dumb rabbit, telling lies about George.

"Y-yah." He agreed. When George remained silent, Lennie balled his fists at his side." I done a bad thing, George!"

George winced at the phrase. Of course Lennie'd done a bad thing, he always did. A day never went by where George could sit back, relax and dream; Lennie was the only one allowed that.

"It don't make no difference," he muttered.

The sun was slowly lowering below the rich green tree tops, darkening the two men's faces. From far out, George could hear Curley and the other men nearing.

"You ain't mad, George?"

"No. No. I ain't." George spat into the water.

"A- and you ain't gonna leave me?"

George opened his mouth, then slowly shut it, shaking his head. Creeping forward, Lennie dropped to his knees in front of him.

"What we gonna do, George?" Lennie asked, trying to catch his friend's eyes. "I done a really bad thing."

"You ain't meant no harm, Lennie."

Lennie grabbed at George's shirt and his eyes welled up.

"I ain't gonna get to tend no rabbits," he murmured.

Turning to face him, George put a hand to Lennie's head and knelt behind him.

"Yeah, yah are," he muttered, voice cracking. "You're gonna be with me and I'm gonna—"

"Be with me," Lennie finished. "George tell it like you did before!"

Moving his hand to Lennie's shoulder, George slowly pulled Carlson's Lugar from his pocket.

"Look across the river so you can see it all," he muttered.

"We gonna get a little place," George began, raising the gun inches from Lennie's head. His hand quivered and he lowered it, biting his lip. "We gonna have a cow, a pig an' some chickens. Then d-down the flat, there'll be alfalfa for—"

"The rabbits!" Lennie exclaimed.

"Mmhm."

"And I get to tend 'em?"

"You get to tend 'em."

Lennie blinked, fighting back excited laughter.

"That ain't true."

Lennie's head whipped around at the foreign voice. As his eyes fell on the rabbit, Lennie's eyes darkened and his fists balled.

"You get outta here!" he shouted. "Get outta here and leave me an' George alone!"

The rabbit guffawed loudly, hopping forward.

"George ain't want nothing to do with you!" The rabbit mocked.

Lennie swatted at the rabbit; his hand went straight through the giant animal.

"Lennie?" George shouted, the gun slipping from his shaking grip.

"Make it go away, George!" Lennie pleaded, crawling backward from the rabbit; for every inch he moved, the rabbit took a giant hop.

"George ain't gonna leave me!" Lennie argued.

" Crazy bastard!" The rabbit hissed. " George don't want 'cha."

As Lennie backed away, his hand brushed up against the Lugar, peering down at it. He'd seen people get dead with stuff like this. Then that damned rabbit would quit poking at him and George forever.

Gripping the gun, Lennie staggered to his feet, accidentally snapping of the safety.

" You gon' shoot me?!" The rabbit laughed. " With no brain to know when someone don' want 'cha?"

Now the rabbit was hopping in circles around Lennie and George, laughing and laughing.

" Crazy bastard."

"George is sick of yah."

" Nobody wants yah!"

Lennie raised the gun in front of his face, angry tears streaming down his cheeks.

" Shut up!" He shouted, the gun firing." Don't say nuthin' about me an' George!"

"Lennie, give me the gun!" George grabbed Lennie's elbows and attempted to lower the gun, but the man's inhuman strength was much too much. " Lennie! What the hell is wrong with you?"

The gun fired over and over as the rabbit hopped around and around the men. Blinded by his tears, Lennie turned on George.

" George, make it go away!"

George froze, eyes wide on the gun.

"Lennie, now listen." He said cautiously. " You ain't got nuthin' to shoot at. It's only me and you here."

Curley and the men's voices were right over the next ridge, calling out to the gun fire.

Lennie's arms shook as he opened his eyes. Gripping the gun, he fired and shot at the rabbit in front of him, hitting it square between the eyes and again in the neck.

As the rabbit fell to the ground, the gun slipped from Lennie's hands and he dropped to his knees.

" It's gone now George," Lennie whispered. " The badness in gone."

" You're in for it now, yah dumb bastard."

Feebly, Lennie turned and there stood the rabbit, next to the river. His eyes widened as deep, malicious laughter erupted from the rabbit's throat.

" You done kill't off the only person that'd have yah! Yah dumb bitch!"

Lennie turned quickly to the spot where the rabbit had one lay. In its place, in a poll of warm, red liquid, was George, eyes open for the last time.

" You made me do a bad thing!" Lennie shouted. " You dumb rabbit!"

" You did it yourself, yah crazy son of a bitch!" The rabbit roared with laughter.

" I didn't mean nothing and you made me do a really bad thing!" Lennie crept toward George and knelt beside him. " Oh, George, George, wake up. I didn't mean to hurt you. George I'm sorry. George! Wake up! I didn't mean to do a bad thing!"

As the large man wept over his fallen comrade, the hoof beats of horses came to a rest behind him and cold metal was pressed between the base of his skull and his backbone.

The last rays of sun touched the rich green foliage and glittered off the river and the mingled blood of two fallen comrades.

From the corner of the clearing, as the eyes of the larger man closed, could be heard, only by him, the dark, evil laughter of a large rabbit.


End file.
